We received quite a bit of press recently for my latest initiative: recycling asphalt. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette headlined it City Officials Kicking the Tires on Asphalt Recycling System.

Let me tell you, after we met and talked numerous times with the president of the manufacturer, Angelo Benedetti, Inc., and visited Akron twice to see the machinery in action, I am convinced that the City should buy this system immediately. The sooner we buy it, the sooner we begin saving money.

Invented by late McKees Rocks native Angelo Benedetti, who began using it in 1959, this process consists of a pre-heating machine that heats the road surface, and a second, larger machine that heats it again, scrapes up the top two inches, breaks it up and takes it up into the machine, mixes it with emulsion, and lays it back down on the road. Then a roller comes along and rolls it, and the road is ready to drive on in five minutes.

This is a win-win prospect. The City saves millions of taxpayer dollars, we reduce our carbon footprint by around 80%, the work is done by City workers rather than contractors (so the money and jobs remain in the city), and we are reusing what we already have.

I took with me to Akron some of our Citys most experienced workers 50+ years experience with asphalt among them and they deemed the product to be excellent. Bill Urbanic, City Councils Budget Director, who also went with us, estimates conservatively at least a 70% savings on road paving, enough for the machinery to pay for itself within the first year. The company has given us a guarantee as to those initial savings.

Mr. Urbanic calculates that our current paving method costs $12.25 per square yard, while the recycling process would cost us $3.50 per square yard. That amortizes out to $113,750 saved for every mile of road. If we use this equipment for 20 miles of road in a year, we have already saved $2,275,000, or more than the cost of the machinery.

The process is used on roads where the bed under the asphalt does not need to be recreated, and it works best on streets with few sharp curves. Since the process is all contained within one set of machinery, which moves along between 15 and 30 feet per minute, paving one lane at a time, it greatly reduces the effect on citizens access to the street. It will not remove asphalt contracting from the City, but it will reduce the need for it by at least one-fifth of the amount of paving. We have been offered some incentives by the Company, as well, if we act soon.

Since it takes six months for the company to manufacture the machinery, the sooner we commit to this, the better. This way, we could have the machinery ready for next years paving season and begin saving money, helping the environment, and repaving more roads right away.

Below is some relevant documentation.